Airplane discharging apparatus



March 5, 1935. Y J. H. GUFFEY 1,993,341

AIRPLANE DISCHARGING APPARATUS Filed May 31, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Jwzzw d March 5, 1935. J, H, GUFFEY AIRPLANE DISCHARGING APPARATUS Filed May 31, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 dw/m INVENTOR 74; f

Patented Mar. 5, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE v 7 1,992,341 A I AIRPLANE DISCHARGING APPARATUS John H. Gufiey, Pittsburgh, Pa. Application May 31, 1933, Serial N6. 673,646

14 Claims.

I This invention relates to passenger-dischargmg apparatus for airplanes.

A general object of the invention is to provide simple and practical. means whereby passengers may, without volition of their part, be successfully landed by parachute from an airplane which is in some difficulty of a nature permitting the discharge of passengers.

A more specific object of the invention is to pro:- vide simple means of but slight weight whereby a pilot may by a single operation discharge passengers from an entire line of seats extending along a passenger plane, it being possible for, the pilot to free himself from the plane, but only after he has initiated 'the action which results in the discharge of the passengers.

Another object of the invention is to provide a seatand fioor arrangement whereby passengers are discharged positively and smoothly in se-,

quence, at time intervals sufficient to insure different latitudes or position for the opening of the parachutes, and to provide such a seat and floor combination that the movable floor sections, which must be withdrawn for the discharge of the passengers, are moved inwardly of the fuselage, so that they do not detract from the stability of the airplane during discharge of the passengers.

A still furtherobject of the inventionis to provide auxiliary floor-supporting means to reinforce the support of .movable floor sections by the locking means withdrawable by the pilot, so that failure of one floor-supporting means does not cause an accidental discharge of a passenger, and so that the cooperation of a person other than the pilot, as for example the steward of a passenger plane, is necessary in order that the passengers may be discharged.

In the accompanying-drawings Figure I is a diagrammatic bottom plan view of a passenger plane having therein tworows of. seats for passengers and provision for two pilots; Figure II is a crosssectional view taken on the line IIII of Figure I and illustrating particularly the auxiliary floorsupporting means and the operating mechanism for moving the auxiliary floor-supporting means into inoperative, or release position; Figure III is a fragmentary longitudinal section, showing one movable floor element, and the locking means therefore which is withdrawable by pilot initiated action; Figure IV is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line IVIV. of Figure I, and illustrating the normal position both of floor sections and of the seats; Figure V is a side elevation illustrating the final position of a floor section and its associated seat in the discharge of a passenger;

sectional view through the trigger" casing and trigger by which collapse of one ifloor section produces collapse'of an adjacent fioorsection;

and Figure IX is a, cross-sectional view on the line- IXIX of Figure VIII. c Referring particularly to FigureI of the drawings, reference numeral I designates generally the'under skin or floor. of an airplane fuselage. Inthis floorI'aretwo rows A and-B respectively, of movable floor sections 2 ;thr0ugh which passengers may bedischarged; Two movable 'iioor sections 3 arealso shjown inthe outer skin of the fuselagefor the discharge of the co-pilots.

Referring to Figure, I of the drawings, and omitting for the present reference to, the auxiliary floor-supporting means shown inl igure I, each of the, movable floor sections 2 of the rows 'A and B is maintained in positionby means of a bolt 4, A line. 5 is shown extendingfrom thelocking bolt 4 of each of the two forward floor sections to the pilots cockpit of the airplane. An independent line 6 is shown as attached to the locking bolt 4 0f;each of the movable floor sections of each row which lie .rearwardly of the forward floorsections. the discharge of a pilot is likewise provided with a locking bolt 7.

Referring particularly to FiguresIII, VI, and

VII of the. drawings, itwill be seen that each of line *or cable, given the detail referencenumeral r 50' is connected with the bolt 4 for drawing .-the bolt from its socket. a

As shown the forward edge 12 of the floor sectionis bevelled to slope upwardly and rearwardly, matching a complementary bevel on theimain floor, so that the forward end of the floor section may fall away upon withdrawal of the bolt. The ,rearwardedge 13 of the-movable floor section is also bevelled upwardly and rearwardly, save for the provision of supporting wings 14 which pro- J'ect laterally at the rearward end of the floor section. These wings 14 lie in prepared seats l4a in the main floor 1 adjacent the opening 15 there- 30 Each of the movable floor sections 3 for 1 in in which the movable floor section lies, and as shown in Figures VI and VII, may be formed to approximately match the wings 14. The rearward tips of the wing portions or members 14 extend beyond the floor section proper and lie in a transverse groove or notch 16 formed in the main floor 1 along the edge of opening 15. The movable floor section is thus firmly and safely supported in the main floor, without permanent attachment thereto. I

The passenger seats, designated generally by reference letter 0, are of uniform structure. As shown, each of these seats consists of a seat frame, which may, if desired, be built around to provide an upholstered chair. Each of the seats comprises curved rearward frame members, or legs 17, which have, formed integrally therewith or rigidly attachedthereto, a back structure 18 and a forward frame 19. The legs or frame members 17 are rigidly mounted on the true floor 1 of the fuselage.

The occupant-supporting platform or seat proper 20 of each seat structure is pivotally mounted adjacent its rearend in the forward portion 19 of the seat frame. .The pair of forward legs 21 of the seat are pivotally attached to platform 20 in its forward region, and have a pivotal attachment to the movable floor section 2 adjacent the rear edgenthereof. The platform 20 is thus normally maintained in position to support an occupant by the arrangementlof pivotal sections, and is foldable upon the shifting of these sections. v I

1 Each of the seats C, except the rearmost seat of the row, hasmounted immediately to the rear thereof a housing 22,- desirable tubular. inform, which contains a trigger 23 having attached thereto the independent cable 6 for the locking bolt 4 associated with the floor section 3 immediately. to the rear ofthat seat. The housing 22 is, of course, mounted on the true floor 1' of fuselage. As shown, trigger 23is of L shape, having a foot 23a which extends outwardly through a slot 24 in the casing, and normally rests on the lower edge of this slot. In order that the trigger may be supported in aligned position in casing 22, for vertical movement in the slot 24, it is provided with a plurality of throw horizontal spider arms 23b arranged. to contact the inner surface of the casing. As shown, the structure is so arranged that the forward extension 2311 of the trigger projects forwardly beyond the plane of seat legs 17 in the region of its vertical movement as defined by slot 24.

Let us assume that the locking bolt 4 associated with the most forwardly floor section 2, has been withdrawn from its socket. The forward edge 12 of the floor section is thus unsupported, and tends to fall away, the rearward end of the floor section being held in the'fuselage by its connection with the forward legs 21 of the seat frame, A turning movement is thus produced about the pivotal connection of the forward legs 21 with the floor section, due to the weight of occupants supporting platform 20 0f the seat structure. Desirable the 'pivotalconnection of the seat structure turns with sufiicient ease to produce this movement without the added weight of a passenger on platform 20. c

The turning movement at the pivotal connection of forward legs 21 with the rearward portion of ,floor'section 3 having been initiated, there is a folding tendency involving the occupantsupporting platform 20, so that the platform tilts forwardly, and floor section '2 is moved into a Y lies.

position within the fuselage with its rearward end raised. The action of raising the rearward end of floor section 2 is guided by cleats 25 on the true floor 1 of the fuselage and projecting over the opening 15 in which the floor section normally These cleats 25 so limit movement of floor section 2 that the floor section turns about them to produce a guided upward movement of its rearward edge. During upward movement of the rearward edge 13 of floor section 2 it is further guided by the rearwardly-extending tips of wings 14, which contact, and between them embrace the rigidly-mounted rearward legs 17 of the seat frame, which thus form a curved track for upward movement of the rear end of the floor section 2. p

The movement of floor section 2 from beneath the feet of a passenger, accompanied by the folding action, which produces a falling away of the forward edge of occupant-supporting platform 20, causes the passenger to fall, or rather to slide feet first, through the opening 15, which has been uncovered by movement of the seat section 2. Lying upon the. platform 20, as its final cushioning cover is a parachute pack 26, to which th passenger has been securely strapped.

Since the passengers in a transport plane are in all probability inexperienced in parachute practice, and may be frightened by the emerggency, the rip-cord 27 of the parachute is desirably attached to some portion of the seat, such as the platform 20. Desirably also the final attachment of the rip-cord 27 is to a spool of usual construction, so that the rip-cord 27 may unwind for a predetermined length before it operates to open the 'pack and release the parachute elements. Such previously known assembly obvious- 1y permits an occupant to fall a sufficient distance so that his parachute will surely be clear of the airplane when it opens.

As the forwardfloor section 2 moves upwardly along the legs 17 of the forward, or key, seat, the rear edge 13 of the floor section strikes the forwardly-p-rojecting leg 23a of trigger 23. The upward movement of trigger 23, thus produced, acts by way of the short cable 6 connected with the bolt 4 of the floor section next to the rear to withdraw its bolt from that floor section. The same action as described'in connection with the most forwardly, or key seat then follows in the next adjacent seat to the rear. The action proceeds successively throughout the entire row of seats, so that the passengers are progressively discharged from the entire row.

It may be here noted that when the discharging action has been once initiated by the pilot, it proceeds to completion along the entire row of seats, each seat actuating the discharging mechanism immediately to the rear. Since it is the folding action of the seat frame, and movement of the movable floor section which produces this progressive action, it proceeds wholly without the volition of the passengers, and cannot be interrupted for the remainder of the row if one panic-stricken passenger should attempt to cling to the arms of theseat, or to any portion of the fuselage, to avoid being discharged from the plane.

As previously stated, the action is initiated for each row of seats by a pilot. This is effected through line cable 5 which leads from that one of the bolts 4 which is associated with the forward seat of the row. As shown, line 5 leads over 7 suitable sheaves 29, 29a to an operating lever 28 mounted adjacent the seat D'of the pilot. A second line 5a, also passing over sheave 29o has its forward extremity arranged to pass over a second sheave 30, and is fastened to the latching bolt '7 which supports the movable floor section 3. Floor section 3 normally closes the discharge end of a chute 31 leading from beneath pilot seat D. Desirably, this floor section is provided with a spear-head catch 32, arranged to co-operatewith a spring clip 33 on the under surface of the fuselage floorr When this door is forced rearwardly by air pressure, upon its opening it will, therefore, be caused to engage the spring clip, and be held against theunder side of the fuselage, so that it may not affect the stability of the airplane.

Obviously the opening of' the discharge port at the exit of chute 31 occurs simultaneously with a discharging action of the forward seat and its associated movable floor sections, since the operation of lever 28 acts on lengths-of the same cable to withdraw the bolt 4 on the passengers section, and to withdraw the bolt 7 from'the pilots discharge section. The pilot does, liowevenre'main temporarily in the airplane, for the reason that the movable section 34 in the floor '35 of the cockpit has'not been released. This iloor'section 34, and the seat frame D associated therewith, are identical. in form and arrangement with those described for the passengers, save that this seat does not have associated with it a trigger assembly for operating seats positioned to the rear.

When, therefore, allthe passengers have been discharged from his row of seats, the pilotcontrolling'the' discharge may, by operation of a second lever 36, which is connected with the bolt 8'? of floor section 34 by a cable 38, cause the collapse of. the floor section beneath his feet, and the folding action of the floor section and the platform on which he sits. He also is, therefore, discharged by way of chute 31, the lower end of which has been opened in the manner previously described.

While the structure as hereinpreviously described may be consideredin itself complete, I have provided additional means. independently operable, to support the movable floor sections independently of the locking bolts for attaching themto the true floor of the fuselage. The provision of such additional means is highly desirable in that it prevents the accidental discharge of a passenger because of a bolt'failure, or by an accidental manipulation of his operating lever by the pilot. Any accidental discharge of a passenger would, of course, be fatal if a passenger discharged from the airplane'was not properly attached to his parachute pack. While any such accidental discharge of passenger may be considered remote, the psychological efiect of any such possibility upon thepassengers might be so serious as to prevent universal adoption of the discharging means herein previously described.

The additional floor supporting means which I provide aredesirably operableby the steward of a transport plane, independently of any action on the part of the pilot, so that the co-operaticn of two persons, at least, is necessary for dis-' charging passengers. The structure which I have provided for this purpose comprises two longitudinally winged bars 39, the wings on each of which-extend laterally to lie beneath the inner edge of one row of movable floor sections. Since each of the floor sections 2 is normally supported at its rearward edge, independently of the associated locking bolt 4, the underlying wing of one of the bars 39 will prevent movement of the floor section to discharge a passenger, even though the locking bolt 4 should be withdrawn. 1 As shown, each of the Winged bars 39 ha bearings in brackets 40 and 41 disposed respectively forwardly and rearwardly oi the rows of movable floor sections. The bars may be turned into and out of supporting position by means of worm wheels 42, carried bythe bars and meshing with worms 43 on a cross-shaft 44. Cross-shaft 44 may be rotated by any suitable means, the means shown comprising a sprocket-chain 45, which passes over sprockets 46 and 47, ,on the cross-shaft 44, and on a hand wheel 48, respectively. It will be readily understood that rotation of cross-shaft 44 in one direction will swingsupporting means may be wider the control of a pilot. It is, however, as stated above, more desirable that amember of the crew, other than the pilot, shouldhave control of this saiety'lock.

Let us assume that the passengers are to'be discharged from a large transport plane carrying a steward. On receivingan alarm signal from the pilot, the steward can first of all seethat all passengers are in their seats, and that they. are I securely buckled to their parachutes. .I-Ie can then operate the means for moving the winged bars out of supporting position. Desirably. in practice the operating means for these winged bars would be housed in a locked cabinet, the

key to which would be in the possession of the I steward. The steward can then inform the pilot that all is clear in the cabinet of the airplane, as

by means of speaking tube 49, and the pilotcan then initiate the discharging action by means of the operating lever, or levers, under the control of the pilot or pilots.

'. It will be noted that the. pilot or pilots are the last to be discharged from the plane, and may.

remain in the plane fora considerable time interval after the discharge of the passengers. This permits the airplane to be so maneuvered that it cannot dive upon any passenger whose descent is retarded by his parachute. The fact that a pilot must initiate action discharging all passengers, before he himself can be discharge from a plane which is in trouble, positively prevents a pilot from savinghimself whilesacrificing the passengers.

-I claim:

1. In apparatus for discharging passengers from an airplane the combination of a row of seats, movable floor sections arranged one before each seat, latching means associated with each iioor section, each floor section being movable as, a whole to uncover a discharge opening upon withdrawal of its associated latching means, and operating connections for withdrawing said latching means comprising manually controlled connections for withdrawing the latch from one floor section and latch withdrawing means associated with each other floor section arranged to be acted upon by movement of an adjacent floor section to withdraw the latch from the floor section with which it is associated.

2. In apparatus for discharging occupants from an airplane the combination of two seats, a floor section movable as a whole associated with each seat and attached adjacent one edge thereof to its associated seat, latching means arranged to support the edge of each floor section opposite that at which it is attached to its associated seat, latch withdrawing means for one seat disposed for actuation in the path of movement of the floor section associated with the other seat, whereby movement of the one floor section upon unlatching thereof causes unlatching of the other floor section, and manually controlled connection for withdrawing the latch from the one floorsection.

3. In apparatus for discharging occupants from an airplane the combination of a row of passenger seats, a pilot seat, a floor section movable as a whole associated with each seat, latching means associated with each floor section, operating connection operable from the pilot seat and arranged to withdraw the latch from that fioorsection of the row which is disposed next adjacent the pilot, and unlatching means associated with the latch of each other'floor section and operably projected into the path of opening movement of the floor section next adjacent thereto in the direction of the pilot seat.

4. In apparatus for discharging the occupants of an airplane the combination of a pilot seat, a discharge door in the outer skin or floor of the airplane fuselage functionally beneath the pilot seat, a withdrawable latch associated with said pilot discharge door,-a passenger seat having a movable floor section and withdrawable latching means therefore associated with said passenger seat, unlatching connections to the latch for the pilot discharge door and tothe latching means associated with the movable floor section associated with the passenger seat respectively, said connections operable by means common to both connections and under control of an occupant of the pilot seat, a movable floor section having withdrawable latching'means associated with the pilot seat, and independent means operable by an occupant of the pilot seat arranged to withdraw the latching means associated with said floor section.

5. In apparatus for discharging the occupants of an airplane the combination of a floor section arranged in an opening through the floor of an airplane fuselage with one edge of the fioor section freely supported in said opening, withdrawable latching means connecting the opposite edge of said floor section to the true floor of the fuselage, with a seat having a rigid portion mounted on the true floor of the fuselage and a folding portion comprising the seat platform attached to the floor section, whereby full support for the seat platform is withdrawn and folding action is effected by withdrawal of the latching means from the floor section arranged in the said opening with the weight of the floor carried by its connection with the folding portion of the chair. 6. In'apparatus for discharging'the occupants of an airplane the combination of two floor sections each arranged in an opening through the floor of an airplane fuselage, the rearward edge of each floor section being supported in its opening, withdrawable latching means connecting the opposite edge of each floor section to the true floor of the fuselage, with seats each disposed to the rear of one opening in the floor, each seat having a rigid portion mounted on the true floor of the fuselage and a folding portion comprising the seat platform attached to the floor section adjacent the floor-supported edge thereof, whereby full support for the seat platform is withdrawn and folding action of the seat structure accompanied by upward movement of the rear edge of the floor section takes place upon withdrawal of the latching means for the fioor section; latch withdrawing connections for the latching means associated with the rearward seat of the pair, a trigger structure for said connections mounted to the-rear of the forward seat of the pair, and means guiding upward movement of the forward floor section into a path including the trigger structure in the latch withdrawing connections of the rearward seat.

7. In apparatus for discharging occupants from an airplane the combination of a row of seats, movable floor sections arranged. one before each seat, a latch associated with each floor section, each floor section being movable as a whole to uncover a discharge opening upon withdrawal of its associated latch, operating connections for withdrawing said latches comprising manually controlled connections for withdrawing'the latch from one floor section and latch withdrawing means associated with each other floor section arranged to-be acted upon by movement of an adjacent floor section to withdraw the latch from the floor section with which it is associated, re-

straining means arranged to prevent movement of any floor section of the row upon withdrawal of its associated latch and thus preventing related latch withdrawing action throughout the row of seats, and independent actuating means for moving said restraining means out of its operative restraining position. v

8. In apparatus for discharging occupants from an airplane the combination of a row of seats, movable floor sections arranged one before each seat, a latch associated with each floor section, each floor section being movable as a whole to uncover a discharge opening upon withdrawal of its associated latch, and operating connections for withdrawing the said latches comprising manually controlled connections for withdrawing the latch from one floor section and latch withdrawing means associated with each other floor section arranged to be acted upon by movement of an adjacent floor section to withdraw the latch from the floor section with which it is associated; with auxiliary restraining means comprising a winged bar arranged for rotation into restraining position in which by underlying the floor sections it prevents movement of any floor section of the row upon withdrawal of its associated latch and thus prevents related latch Withdrawing action throughout the row of seats, and independent actuating means for moving said restraining means into and out of operative restraining position.

9. In apparatus for discharging the occupants of an airplane the combination of a movable floor section arranged in an opening through the floorof an airplane fuselage, latching means for attaching said floor section for support to the true floor of the fuselage, connections for withdrawing said latching means; with auxiliary restraining means comprising a winged bar arranged for rotation into and out of position with its wing underlying the movable floor section to thereby prevent downward movement of said floor section when its latch is withdrawn, and actuating means for rotating said winged bar into and out of restraining position operable independently of the unlatehing connections.

10. In apparatus for discharging occupants from airplanes the combination of a pilot seat, discharge opening in the airplane fuselage disposed functionally beneath said pilot seat, a collapsible closure for said opening, a passenger seat having therebefore a discharge opening, a collapsible closure for said discharge opening, supporting means disposed beneath the closure associated with the passenger seat and arranged to be brought independently into and out of supporting position, removable supporting means for the closure associated with the pilot seat and additional removable supporting means associated with the closure for the passenger seat, and actuating means common to both for removing said last named supports from supporting position.

11. Apparatus for discharging the occupants of airplanes comprising a row of collapsible seats,

a row of collapsible floor sections, seat collapsingconnections whereby the collapse of one floor section in the row collapses the seat associated with it, and automatic means operable between floor sections and operated by collapse of one floor section to cause in sequential action progressive collapse of all succeeding floor sections andthe seats associated with them.

12. Apparatus for discharging the occupants of airplanes comprising a row of collapsible floor sections, a row of collapsible seats, collapsing connection between each seat and its associated floor section whereby the collapse of one floor section collapses the seat associated with it, and automatic means operable between floor sections and operated by collapse of one floor section to cause in sequential action progressive collapse of all succeeding floor sections and ciated with them.

13. Apparatus for discharging the occupants of airplanes comprising a row of collapsible seats, a row of collapsible floor sections, seat'collapsing connections whereby the collapse of one floor section in the row collapses the seat associated with it, automatic means operable between floor sections and operated by collapse of one fioor section to cause in sequential action progressive collapse of all succeeding floor sections and the seats associated with them, and means mounted and arranged to be brought into position positively to prevent collapse of the floor sections and their associated seats.

14. Apparatus for discharging the occupants of airplanes comprising a row of collapsible floor sections, a row' of collapsible seats, collapsing connection between each seat and its associated floor section whereby the collapse of one floor section collapses the seat associated with it, automatic means operable between floor sections and operated by collapse of one floor section to cause by sequential action progressive collapse of all succeeding floor sections and the seats associated withthe'm, and means mounted and arranged to be brought into position positively to prevent ,collapseof the floor sections and their associated seats.

' JOHN H. GU'FFEY.

the seats asso- 

